We always enjoy seeing our products being modified, revamped and DIY-ed, as well as the results of these transformations.
Our customer Vera Kark provided us with some thoughtful feedback on adding mechanical tweaks to improve our Solar GraviTrack build and documentation. She also painted the brown MDF of the machine. She used tempera paint on the wood components still in panelized form, and the GraviTrack's performance seemed to be unaffected.
The GraviTrack looks great in vibrant jewel tone colours, however, we do not recommend applying paint to the hand mechanism itself. You can paint the base and the rails, avoiding the hand mechanism completely. The moisture and the thickness of the paint might affect the precise tolerances of the moving parts, and will interfere with its proper functioning. Another relatively safe option might be felt tip marker since the moisture from alcohol evaporates quickly.
Photos & video by Vera Kark
P.S. Also, a particularly bad idea is painting your GraviTrackafter the assembly is completed. Even though we were using a very watered down acrylic paint, the mechanism seized up the moment the paint became sticky. Don't be like us. Take care of your GraviTrack.
Eric L. was so kind as to send us a link to a video of his Make 06 Trimet on YouTube. If you want to build your very own Trimet you can get all the parts here, and if you don't have the magazine, you can buy it here. Order both together and get 10% […]
Now that the season of mass gift giving is (temporarily) over, publishing the details on this special gift ocarina box for a wedding anniversary will not ruin a surprise. So I figured I'd share this personal project that uses simple but smart electronics. First I soldered an interrupter switch to the SuperFlex LED Strand with Battery Pack in color purple. […]
Mega Protoshield for Arduino $20.75 The Arduino Mega has LOTS of I/O. This Mega Protoshield by Adafruit breaks it all out for easy access and prototyping. Single Panel Breadboard with Terminals $13.00 830 contact single panel breadboard with 3 banana terminal jacks. Acrylic Enclosure for the 1018 Interface Kit 8/8/8 $11.50 The 3804 Enclosure is […]
Hey! Are you in Calgary? Are you near Calgary? Is your name Calgary? If you answered yes to any of the first two questions (but not the third one - that's just plain weird), then you might be interested in hearing about the Mini Maker Faire that's happening here in the city tomorrow. From 10am […]
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!
Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.
Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.